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Bags of Help campaign is launched

Stroud Valleys Project calls out for votes to bag a share of a £12.5million carrier bag charge fund

Stroud Valleys Project is bidding to bag a massive cash boost from the Tesco Bags of Help initiative.

The supermarket has teamed up with Groundwork on its Bags of Help initiative, which see grants of £12,000, £10,000 and £8,000 – all raised from the 5p bag levy – being awarded to environmental and greenspace projects.

Three groups in each of Tesco’s 416 regions have been shortlisted to receive the cash award. Stroud Valleys Project is one of the three groups on the Stroud based shortlist.

Shoppers are being invited to head along to Tesco stores to vote for who they think should take away the top grant up until 13 November 2016.

Voting is open in stores from 31st October – 13th November. Customers cast their vote using a token given to them at the check-out in store each time they shop.

The aim of our project is to create a Sensory Garden for the whole community of Stroud. A team of volunteers will work on developing Sensory Garden. During the consultation people asked for a water feature, nesting boxes, wind chimes, musical instruments, quiet space, activity space, mosaic, maze, barefoot trail, scented and coloured flowers and beds accessible from wheelchairs. Working with partners, volunteers will meet up once a week and be lead by an experienced project officer from Stroud Valleys Project. Volunteers will create separate spaces, footpaths, landscaping, flower beds, raised beds and structures for plants and plant up the garden.

We ask that Tesco shoppers in the Stroud area (Paganhill, Stratford Park, or Eastcombe/Bussage) help us to raise funds by placing your Bags of Help token from the checkout into the Stroud Valleys Project container.

This is the second round of the initiative: the first round saw approximately eight million shoppers vote in stores up and down the country earlier this year.

Lindsey Crompton, Head of Community at Tesco, said: “The first round of the Bags of Help initiative was a fantastic success.

“In total 1,170 community groups were awarded £8,000, £10,000 or £12,000 - that’s a massive £11.7 million being invested into local projects.

“We are already seeing some great results from groups transforming their own environmental and greenspace areas.

“We are absolutely delighted to open the voting for round two. There are some fantastic projects on the shortlists and we can’t wait to see them come to life in hundreds of communities.”

CEO of Stroud Valleys Project said ‘We are delighted to be in this scheme. According to a report in the Guardian, the carrier bag charge has reduced the usage of carrier bags by 85%. We see far fewer carrier bags blowing around our sites as litter. It is great that the carrier bag charge will benefit our Sensory garden in Stratford Park which is for everyone to enjoy.’

Groundwork’s national Chief Executive, Graham Duxbury, said: “Bags of Help is giving our communities both the funding and the support to create better, healthier and greener places for everyone to enjoy.

“We’ve been thrilled to see the diversity of projects that have applied for funding, ranging from outdoor classrooms, sports facilities, community gardens, play areas and everything in between.

“They’re all fantastic projects that make a real difference in our neighbourhoods.

“We’re looking forward to learning the results of the customer vote and then supporting each group to bring their project to life.”

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Created: 11 January 2017

Our Volunteers Say

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I've found the projects inspiring and I've developed skills I didn't know I had, to the extent that I am now able to find employment in new fields.

I will always be grateful to the staff and volunteers at Stroud Valleys Project for their encouragement and warm support.

Being involved with Stroud Valleys Project has been a great experience. I've enjoyed and learnt so much through various courses and volunteer projects I've worked on.

Thank you all at SVP for the help and support you have given me in the last couple of years, which has helped me to get my foot back on the ladder in the world of work.

I loved the course (Veg Growing), it was the highlight of my week

“Often I feel so bad I don’t want to do anything but after coming here, working with my group in the sunshine, I always feel more cheerful. They are my friends now.”

“Volunteering with SVP is the best thing that happened to me in my life.”

“I never thought I would get into gardening and growing stuff, but through all my work with SVP I have learnt to really appreciate nature.”

“We get lots of work done – and we have a laugh!”

“Our group is like pieces from a jigsaw puzzle. Everybody mucks in and does what they can, and the job gets finished in no time.”

“When somebody has a bad day, the others in the team make them feel better.”